Hasta La Gadget!

You may recall back in June, we first talked about the Android-powered Shimi dancing robot speaker dock. The speaker dock was aimed at Android smartphone users and would dance and tap its little robotic foot to the tunes you playback from your smartphone. Inside the robot’s head is a pair of speakers.

Shimi turned up this week on Kickstarter seeking funding for a new iPhone version of the little dancing speaker dock. The project will fund on October 10, assuming it meets its fundraising goal. That fundraising goal is $100,000 and so far, it has raised $16,244 from 124 backers. The project has 28 more days to go before funding ends.

If you’re interested in the Shimi, the cheapest pledge that will get you one of the little robots worked out to $129 and was available to the first 100 backers, but that is sold out. Right now if you want to get your own Shimi pre-ordered on Kickstarter, it will cost you $149. The developers are also offering a pack for $800 that gets six of the Shimi devices.

The funds raised via the Kickstarter campaign will be used to move from the Android-based prototype to the iPhone platform. The developers promise there will be an Android version as well. Money will also be used to redesign the components used in the robot for low-cost durability. One key part to the fundraising is to raise money to create tooling and parts for mass production.

Shimi smart musical robot comes to the iPhone is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

I’m sure there are a bunch of people out there that own iMacs that have wished the device was touchscreen enabled. If the iMac had a touchscreen from the factory, you could surf the web and watch video by simply touching icons on the screen rather than having to fiddle with a mouse. A new product has surfaced called the Zorro Macsk from a company called TMD Touch.

The Zorro Macsk is designed to work with 21.5-inch iMac and connects to the computer using a USB port. Once the device is plugged into the USB port, it uses infrared technology to turn the normal display screen into a touchscreen. Installation requires that the user secure the aluminum frame to the front of the iMac and plug in the USB cable.

The device reportedly needs no calibration, and the manufacturer claims that it also supports most finger gestures such as swipe, scrolling, clicking, and pinching. The aluminum frame is available in multiple colors, including black, silver, white, pink, blue, and green. It has a circular opening to leave the Mac logo uncovered.

The device also has cut outs for the camera and the camera activity indicator. I think if you went with the black or silver version, your iMac would look stock. The device does wrap around the iMac screen and edges for a secure fit, but the Zorro Macsk leaves room for normal functionality of the optical drive and integrated heat sinks. The device is available on Amazon for $199 right now.

[via EverythingUSB]

Zorro Macsk turns your iMac into a touchscreen device is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

AirPlay Mirroring on the iPhone and iPad is great, but startup Artifex Touch thinks it has a better solution for impromptu presentations, media streaming, group working and more with its AirBridge. A portable wireless adapter that clips to an iOS device and your nearest TV or projector, AirBridge is fresh to Kickstarter and, with the help of a clever companion app, streams video, games, and presentations over WiFi, either to the base station or directly to another iOS device user.

The app automatically searches for other nearby users – it can even create its own peer-to-peer WiFi link – and allows you to drag and drop files onto that user’s face (or into a group dropzone) to share files direct. You can send them the entire file in one go, or stream it to their iPhone or iPad display as a secondary screen, and the viewer can take snapshots of the presentation feed and annotate it. If there’s no WiFi available, it’ll fall back on Bluetooth instead.

Two versions of the hardware are in the works: AirBridge Pro has HDMI, VGA, 3.5mm audio-out and USB 3.0, with a microUSB port for charging its 3hr battery (though 8hrs is the target, if the Kickstarter raises enough). It can record mirrored video – such as an impromptu presentation you broadcast from your iPad – as an MP4 video onto a USB drive plugged into the base station, and streams mirrored video, over WiFi, to up to ten network-connected iOS devices.

The AirBridge Lite slims connectivity down to just HDMI and the 3.5mm audio-out, and supports cordless mirroring but no recording or ten-device streaming. As for the app, that can hook into cloud storage services like Dropbox, Box, and Skydrive, as well as authenticate via Facebook or LinkedIn. Altogether, up to 1080p HD resolution is supported.

Right now, AirBridge is compatible with all three generations of iPad and the iPhone 4/4S; mirroring requires an iPad 2, new iPad, or iPhone 4S. Given Apple is widely expected to switch to a new, smaller port as of the iPhone 5, the AirBridge team have made the docking connector modular.

Production is said to be possible within four months of funding completing – assuming AirBridge gets the ambitious $500,000 the company is looking for – with the round closing on October 20. A $99 pledge gets an AirBridge Lite once production starts; a $125 pledge steps up to the AirBridge Pro.

AirBridge out-streams AirPlay for impromptu iPhone sharing is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Nokia’s new Lumia 920 may have stolen the show this morning while they announced a few new handsets, but the accessories Nokia brought to the market along with their new phones deserve a quick look too. We have wireless charging in multiple ways, NFC speaker docks from JBL and more so check them out below along with some hands-on and first impressions.

First we’ll start with the just announced JBL Power Up wireless speaker. This new speaker doesn’t have a dock, well, because it doesn’t need one. This is as wireless as it gets featuring both NFC capabilities for wireless media playback, and wireless charging with compatible Lumia devices too. JBL partnered with Lumia and the Qi wireless technology to produce a neat accessory here. Just tap the phone and speaker together for some NFC goodness to start streaming your favorite song, or lay your Lumia right on top and charge it at the same time. This is quite the cord-cutting accessory.

Then since we are talking about cord cutting they also detailed multiple other wireless charging systems too. Nokia also announced their own Lumia Wireless charging pads using the same Qi charging we’ve seen from others like HP and Palm. This still hasn’t taken off like many had hoped, but Nokia seems to be putting forth tons of effort in the technology. We have hands-on video showing off their charging system that will be available shortly.

When we said Nokia is going all in on wireless charging we meant it. They partnered with JBL above, and even with Fatboy to announce a wireless charging “pillow”. Yea this is actually a soft microfiber pillow with the Qi charging standard built-in. This will be a nice and comfy place to set your lovely Yellow or Cyan Lumia 920, and they’ve partnered with Virgin Atlantic, Coffee Bean, and Tea Leaf to get these pillows in lounges nationwide. Yes they want you to be able to charge your Lumia while hanging out at the coffee shop — again all wirelessly.

Then while it isn’t an accessory in the usual standards the Lumia 820 also announced today will support a wide array of colors and battery covers. This will add the wireless charging options to that budget smartphone to join the 920, and they’ll be offering multiple colors such as black, yellow, cyan, purple and more. Then lastly just like leaks all last week Nokia has partnered with Monster to offer the same bright colors in multiple NFC capable wireless headphones as you can see below.

The Nokia event has just wrapped up earlier today and we’ll continue to bring you more details and hands-on video as the day continues.

Nokia Lumia accessories and wireless charging hands-on is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Shipments of the Pebble smart watch are close at hand, with the $10m Kickstarter project inviting backers to pick their watch color – with a new option added in for good measure – and register a shipping address. The project, which sold out back in May, now offers the Bluetooth connected watch in black, white, red, orange, or grey, with those who originally backed the cheapest black version able to upgrade for $15.

“Thanks for supporting Pebble on Kickstarter. It’s time for you to tell us where you live, and to select a color for your Pebble. We’ve added Grey, due to popular demand. If you backed a Jet Black Pebble, you can also upgrade to Color if you’d like!

We’ve set up a new website for our Pebble backers to manage their order. You have until Sept 30, 2012 to choose a color for your Pebble using this site” Pebble

The site also allows those who forgot to add in international shipping costs (an extra $15) to pay for that, though if you included the charge in your initial pledge then you won’t be asked for more. Exact shipping dates haven’t been confirmed, though the Pebble team did admit a few months back that it would miss its original September estimate.

Nonetheless, there’s still plenty of excitement about the watch. Designed as a companion for an iOS or Android phone, it can show messaging alerts, notifications, calendar alarms and more, as well as integrating with other systems such as fellow Kickstarter hit Twine.

Hardware specifications include Bluetooth 4.0, an e-paper display for low power consumption, and a vibration motor for discrete alerts. The watch is also compatible with generic watch-straps, for those who want to customize.

Pebble smartwatch adds color option as backers asked for ship details is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.